People who have strawberries in their fridge warned to act and 'you need to'

A simple household item will keep strawberries fresh for longer and stop them going mouldy. People who have strawberries in their fridges have been told to follow the simple storage hack and rule to ensure the fruit is staying fresh for longer.

"Been struggling to keep strawberries fresh and often at least a few get mouldy quick no matter how or where is stored?" asked a Reddit user. In response, a reader replied: "You need to wash fruit as soon as you get it home. You can use premade fruit and veggie wash, or you can use water with some distilled white vinegar added in.

"I have a big bowl that I fill with cool water, add in some distilled white vinegar, dump the strawberries in, and let them soak while I put the groceries away (usually less than 5 minutes). Then I swish them around with my hand for 30 seconds to a minute, then dump the water out and spread the fruit on a dish towel to dry completely.

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"While the fruit is drying, wash and dry whatever container you plan on keeping the fruit in." Another said: "The vinegar trick works great when I make the time to do it! Also have found that pre-slicing (or at least taking the tops off) so they’re ready to eat makes me go through them faster and they don’t have time to grow mold."

"Stored in a single layer, unwashed covered in the fridge. Remove any berry that starts to show signs of mold. The most you can expect is 7 days. Less if the berries weren't especially fresh in the store," another commented in response.

Another said: "Likes others mentioned, a vinegar dip works well. The thing is though, if the strawberries have any cuts or bruises, soaking those in vinegar makes them taste like vinegar. I recommend using citric acid instead (buy food grade citric acid and dilute the powder in water) if you do this a lot. It doesn't affect the taste of the strawberries for the most part, and if it does, it just gets a little extra tart."

Another said: "Are you eating them raw? If not cut them in half or quarters. Then place them on parchment paper, so they won'tstick together while freezing. Put em in the freezer, and once they are frozen put them in a bag for Smoothies. I do this with all of the fruit my backyard produces. Daily checking for fruit that looks a little worse for wear, and freeze it before it molds."